Mason and Alan:

Let me expand on my answer. Mises's goal in building economic models, or 
images, of economic interaction based on the so-called action axiom was 
not to explain all behavior. It was to make it easier to evaluate 
arguments regarding the effects of economic policy. If economic policy 
is being made for obedient servants or for people who can be depended 
upon to follow a particular fad or fashion, the propensity for people to 
behave in this way would have to be taken into account. But this is no 
reason to take such behavior into account in formulating basic axioms.

Mises would have argued that, to accomplish the goal of evaluating 
arguments, basic axioms should be based on what is distinct about human 
beings, as opposed to all of their attributes. Other animals "blindly" 
obey authority and other animals follow crowds. Human beings can 
deliberate and choose whether the prospective gain from being obedient 
and following crowds is worth the prospective cost. Thus, if one is 
building images of distinctly human beings, one should make them logical 
and recognize their ability to take account of the logic in others like 
themselves.

So as I see it, with respect to the goal of building images that are 
relevant to evaluating arguments for or against this or that public 
policy, you would not disagree in any fundamental way with Mises. Am I 
wrong about this?


Pat Gunning